Promotes water safety
CRYSTAL FALLS -- Their mission is to educate and promote safety in and around the water.
Saturday, "Wear it Michigan" set up camp at the Bass Festival to help share their message. In exchange for a pledge to wear their lifejackets in and around the water, the Wear it Michigan campaign was giving away t-shirts and life vests.
According to the Upper Peninsula Safe Water Sports Coalition, most drownings are a result of not wearing a life jacket.
And for many of the leaders of the Wear it Michigan campaign, the message hits home.
"We lost our son in 2008. He was duck hunting. An unusual circumstance...got into a small boat and it capsized he was with a friend who tried to rescue him and was unable to," said Monica Shirkey of the Wear it Michigan campaign.
Michigan state law requires every boat to have one life jacket for every occupant on board.
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